In the Second Grade, we launch our read aloud with a favorite series that many students read independently in their second grade year; Ready Freddy. Together with the students, we take time in this first read aloud to establish expectations and goals for our classroom conversation together. What makes a good conversation? What can we do to improve our conversation? How can we help our peers in getting better at talking about books? These are some of the questions students ask themselves, as they set goals as a class and individually around quality conversation.

We also demonstrate key comprehension skills during this unit, such as:

Getting a strong start in a book by previewing, then reading carefully at the beginning to get to know the important characters and the big problem in the book.

Carrying a story across chapters by stopping to think about what happened in the chapter, and how it fits with the whole story.

Making predictions as we read, and reading on to confirm or adjust our ideas.

Inferring character feeling – figuring out how a character feels, even if he/she doesn’t say it.

Thinking about the role of secondary characters – why are they important to the story.

Our next unit, Endangered Species, extends through the end of October. This is a project-based unit where students investigate first extinct, then endangered species, and then they take action by educating our community about an endangered species of their choice. Part of this project involves community outreach – on November 3rd at 8:10 am - students will be presenting what they’ve learned and asking for commitment from families in our school to take one step toward protecting these endangered species.

In Read Aloud, we spend most of November studying characters. We also study how have conversations. To do this, the teachers have chosen books that inspire lively discussions among our second grade students – Shoeshine Girl, The Chalkbox Kid, and The Paintbrush Kid. All of these books are written by Clyde Robert Bulla, who experienced many changes during his own childhood – moving from place to place, making new friends, feeling lonely or left out. His stories, which in the end are all uplifting, are the kinds of stories that many students connect to, and all students have something to say about!

Through all of these books, we invite students to question and react to the characters and the choices they make. Rather than ask them comprehension questions at the end of each chapter, we pause often inside of the chapter to let students think about what they’ve heard, and have an idea about. We often ask the simple questions, What are you thinking? Or, What are you wondering? From there, students are invited to build on each other’s ideas, or propose other points of view.

You can support this work at home by picking out a chapter book – slightly above your child’s level – to read at night to your child. Pause often to think about what happened and ask your child what they’re thinking or what they’re wondering. Here are a few second grade favorites:Gooney Bird Greene by Lois LowryToys Go Out by Emily JenkinsThe Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene CatlingAny of the Junie B Jones books by Barbara Park, if your child needs a light and funny story before bed!

In January, our read aloud curriculum focuses on reading to learn about the Native Americans of New York. This is a project based unit, where the students are given the challenge of creating a museum piece to illustrate what they’ve learned about New York Native American Culture. Alongside our read aloud time together, the students are studying native American culture with their art and dance teachers, both of whom will be advising and supporting the students in their final projects. Our curriculum focuses specifically on how Native Americans used the natural world around them to meet their needs and wants, and the students also learn about Native American contributions to our culture today.In mid-February, we begin our study of Roald Dahl, which continues through March. Roald Dahl is a prolific author whose writing is funny and often inspired by his own life events. The students are already familiar with him – they read The Enormous Crocodile in Kindergarten, and The Twits in first grade. This year, they’ll read Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Witches. They’ll watch the movie Matilda, and then they’ll read Roald Dahl’s collection of memoirs, called BOY. His memoirs are short, true stories about his childhood, and these stories gives students a window into a different place and time, and also a window into how authors are so influenced by their own experiences. This is another project based unit, where the students will be asked to draw connections between events in Roald Dahl’s real life to characters and events that appear in his book, and they’ll be asked to represent these connections in a creative way.In March, the second grade students continue their study of Roald Dahl, ending with his autobiography, BOY. The students then take time to consider what real life events influenced the characters and lessons in his books the students have read. They learn that even fiction writers create stories inspired partly from their real lives, and that also learn that – when you really like an author – it’s interesting to read their autobiography or their memoirs, because it gives you a window into their lives and how they’ve come to write the stories they do.

In April, the students begin a social-studies themed read aloud, where they study the Colonial Period of New York. They read “When Peter Stuyvesant Came to Town,” as well as a few brief articles on Henry Hudson and other explorers. Then, the students work in small groups to research what life was like during the colonial period for New Yorkers. They study clothing, family structures, food, housing, and leisure. The students then present their findings to each other so that everyone gets a sense of what life was like then, and how it was quite different than our lives now.We end the year reading E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, exploring friendship, endings, and new beginnings!